Juhani Jussila

1

Juhani Jussila

THE AIMS FOR EDUCATION FOR WORK IN THE DOCUMENTS CONCERNING PLANS FOR ORGANISING THE FINNISHFOLKSCHOOL IN 1856 – 1866

In: KOULU JA MENNEISYYS. (Ed.) 1968. Suomen kouluhistoriallisen seuran

vuosikirja XIX. Helsinki, 32 – 115. (’The School and the Past’. XIX Yearbook on the

Finnish Society for the History o9f Education, Helsinki, 32 – 115.

I RESEARCH PLAN

1. The starting point and the goal

The gracious statute of the Czar for organising the folk school in the Grand Duchy of Finland ordered that the male students in the (folk school teacher) seminary should be practised in ‘practical handicrafts, gardening and agriculture’ and the female students in ‘handicrafts, household activities and gardening’(§ 24).

In the second department of the seminary model school, in the upper folk school, girls were to be practised in ‘female handicrafts’, sons in ‘dexterity and handicrafts, and both gender in gardening’. The older male pupils had to take part in agriculture activities together with the seminary students (§ 90).

In the upper folk schools in towns girls should be ‘practised in female handicrafts’. Added to that the congregation in question had ‘the power to add handicrafts for boys…, and gardening and other activities, which could be considered useful and necessary’ in school with the other subjects (§ 107).

In the countryside folk schools girls should be ‘practised in female handicrafts and boys in dexterity; and if the municipality or school district will agree, also teaching in agriculture or other generally useful branches of knowledge should be given’ (§ 121).

The gracious regulation of the Czar for the folk school teacher and female teacher seminaries in the Grand Duchy of Finland the 11th of May in 1866 ordered that the aim of teaching ‘practical handicrafts’ was:

‘general dexterity and skill in some crafts, which are most suitable for the common folk; especially for the male pupils: practical skill in using woodwork, lathing and black smith tools in order to make usual household items and agriculture tools and especially those tools, making of which needs greater pondering; for female pupils: rough and fine female handicrafts, like sowing, spinning, weaving, crocheting, knitting, cutting and making the linen, etc. (§ 12).

These regulations in the first folk school statute and the seminary regulation concerned education in practical work. It is here called education for work.

The work education subjects mentioned in the folk school statute and the seminary regulation and their aims were slightly different than those in the proposal of the Folk School Committee (1861). That made also different proposal than the proposal of Uno Cygnaeus for organising the Finnish education system.

So far there has not been clarification about the background factors for the plans for education for work at the formation of our folk school. These might be exposed, if the research would be targeted at the aims of education for work in the plans for organising the folk school system in Finland. That research would be important also because in the middle of the 1900’s the aims for education for work were especially a focus of interest. This is seen e.g. in the literature on folk school matters, here also the newspapers articles, which in education for work handled mostly its aims; methods and curricula had essentially less attention.

The purpose of this piece of research is to describe the development of the aims in education for work at the planning stage of our folk school. The research begins from 1856, when Alexander the II published the reform plan, which advanced the organisation of the folk school and the research and ends at 1866, when the first folk school statute was published.

The development of aims of education for work will be clarified by studying:

-what kind of aims the different plans had for education for work and how the aims were justified,

-what kind of differences or common characteristics there are in the aims, and

-what kind of changes happened in the aims during 1856 – 1866. – Especially the effort is to clarify, how the aims made by Uno Cygnaeus for education for work were different from the other ones – Cygnaeus is used to be called the pioneer of education for work.

It depended on the aims of education for work, which kind of subjects in that were aimed to teach. On the other hand the aims of education for work were connected with the more general aims for the folk school. Because of that the aims for education for work will be scrutinized alongside with the general aims of the folk school and simultaneously taken into consideration what kind of education for work was in the request. Also the aims for teacher training were targeted, because planning teacher training was closely connected with the organisation of the folk school. Further the question of the origin of the aims for education for work is tried to be clarified in order to understand the background of the regulations for education for work in the first law for folk education in the country – well known is that Cygnaeus used the curricula of e.g. Wettingen seminary and the reformed German elementary schools in Bern (Nurmi 1963, n:os 1-3; Salo 1939; Cygnaeus1861 n:o 226; Cygnaeus 1861, letters) and that he had got some influences from the schools in the Baltic (Aurola 1961, 77; Hämäläinen 1957, 195-206).

The general papers concerning the history of the Finnish folk school education system have in some extent handled the aims for education for work from the middle of 1800, but special research on the field is rare. The problem has been scrutinized from vocational point of view by Kyöstiö in his research on the development of the Finnish vocational education in the fields of handicrafts and industry, but that research reaches only to year 1842. Salo has somewhat clarified the thoughts of Cygnaeus on education for work in his research on education of small children in the education system of Uno Cygnaeus. Also otherwise the literature has presented according the theme of this research mostly the aims for work education of Uno Cygnaeus (Blomstedt 1910; Lönnbeck 1910, 147-163; Mikkelsen 1891, 6; Rauhamaa 1916, 82-96; Salo 1940, n:os 1-2; Salokannel 1918, 118-132; Salomon 1888 n:o 1; Thornton 1890).

This research is in the beginning focusing on the aims for education for work in the plans of the folk school before the study trip of Cygnaeus to the other countries. Next is handled the approach of Cygnaeus on the ideas of education for work. As a special chapter are handled the aims for education for work in the travelling report of Cygnaeus and discussions on them. At the end are handled the aims for education for work in the proposal for the folk school system of Cygnaeus, the attitude of the inspection committee on them and how the 1866 folk school law and seminary regulations diverged from the aims of education for work on the other hand from the Cygnaeus’ proposals and on the other hand from the proposal on the inspection committee.

1. The Finnish folk school question in the middle of the 1900s

The Finnish education system had developed up to the 1900s under the church to serve the education needs of the class society. These were not fulfilled, however, on the behalf of all the classes: the traditional education was suited for training the clergy and functioned at the same time as the tool for class circulation – to start the studies was for the peasantry nearly the only way to upheaval of the social status. Proper education for training the bourgeois and officials the school did not give enough (Ruutu 1956).

A special development stage for the Finnish education system can be considered for many reasons to be the 1850s. The national arousal movement continued in science and literature waked up the interest for the needs of upheaval of the civilisation of the people. Discussions concerning planning the Swedish folk school system gave also the Finnish press (Snellman) the idea of thinking the folk school question. In our country the plans for reforming the academic school, law for Sunday schools for craftsmen and the school law in 1843 added the interest for the reforms of the school. Also the influence of the different religious Pietist movements should not be forgotten as promoting the spiritual activity of the people. This was added by the liberal movement spread amongst the university students after the February revolution. When still observing that the ideas of Pestalozzi began to be generally know in our country, that in the 1850s many industrial schools were founded and our network of the parish schools became remarkably more dense, we can understand, how strong foundation the 1850s was for founding the folk school system. – Educational reform also had an opposition. Many clergymen still kept the idea of folk education led by the church; they were afraid about harmful influence for the church brought by the outsiders. This kind of thinking agreed with the politics of Czar Nikolai I, who opposed the liberal efforts (Halila 1949, 182-183; Hanho 1955, 55 -; Juva 1950, 78; Klinge1967; Kyöstiö 1950, 73-77; Kyöstiö 1955, 235-242; Somerkivi 1955, 23-24; Teperi 1959, 224-).

Russia moved in the middle of the 1850s to stronger autocracy than before. The aim of the leading Russians was to isolate more than before from the foreign influences. Finland was generally considered as a buffer state against the revolutionary ideas coming from Sweden: The ‘Scandinavism’ spread in the Nordic countries also had political nationalistic aims – one of them being to re-unite Finland with Sweden. In order to protect against the dangers of the changing circumstances, fore mostly the liberal thoughts spread after 1848, Russia began some contradictory measures in Finland. The censorship statute in 1850 aimed at suppressing the literature spreading the too democratic opinions. The regulation in its full severity was valid for four years – wholly it was invalidated only in 1860. On the same background the inauguration of the committee for folk civilisation in 1851 is understandable: the ruler urged to give more attention to religious education of the youth, ‘because the regulations, even if the clergy was believed to take care of their duties well, were inadequate considering the increase of the population, development of industry and the wrong track in the European thinking at that time’. According to the plan of the Committee the aim of school education was mostly to increase education for reading. Landowners could anyway found private folk schools for their workers and they could also give instruction in some suitable professions and handicrafts. – Prince Menšikov had, however, already at that time given attention wholly to the problems in the foreign politics and the committee memo did not reach further than the office of the general governor (Halila 1949, 193-198; Nurmio 1947, 304-342; Puntila 1944, 85-86).

Russian foreign policy experienced some setbacks in the Oriental War. To keep Finland peaceful was at this stage important. Therefore it is understandable that the new emperor on the throne began in Finland some reforms, which were important for the development of the country. Alexander II came to our capital in March 1856 and gave the Senate a large reform plan with the third chapter on development of rural folk education. The reform measures revealed the Russian political attitudes towards Finland: when trying to develop the country there was a need also to remember the demands for the national togetherness. The reform proposals have been considered as a Russian measure against ‘Scandinavism’ (Halila 1949, 200-201).

According to the order of the Senate the Chapters of the country had to present their proposals for the development of rural folk education, which were completed the same year in October. In order to get to know also the public opinion about the development of folk education the Senate urged ‘the experts and those who were interested in folk education’ to give their statements about the proposals of the chapters before the end of August in 1857. Also the press discussed lively at that time the folk school questions. Participants in the discussions were e.g. J.V. Snellman, A. Meurman, E. Lönnrot, F.P. von Knorring and F.L. Schauman. The first public performance of Uno Cygnaeus concerning the folk school happened in May 1857, when he published in Magazine Wyborg writing about ‘Some words about folk school in Finland’ (in Swedish) (Halila 1949, 202, 207-208; Lönnbeck 1887, 78-84).

1. Folk school and education for work

The changes in the Finnish economic life in the middle of the 1900s, the disappearing of the mercantile economic policy in order to give room for economic liberalism and the dawning development of industry brought also demands for higher living standard. This also influenced the development of the civilisation of the country: in order to have developments in industry and to higher the productivity of agriculture, the efforts to improve the civilisation of the nation were essential – the thought about the togetherness of industrial life and folk education was quite usual. This was expressed clearly in the plans for folk education trying to improve the economic condition of the people through straightforward education attached with practical work. Added to that the Press published texts on the importance of promoting agriculture.

Education for work connected with folk education had been planned in the country already in the beginning of the 1900s. That was the aim of e.g. the wish of Gabriel Ahlman in his last will for organising agricultural training, and the connected plans of Jacob Tengström and Jacob Bonsdorff (Lahdes 1958, 320-323; Tengström-Bonsdorff 1804; Sainio 1957, 170-174). Education for work also was the thought of Zacharias Cygnaeus Sr. for organising education for poor children in 1808: training concerning carding, spinning, weaving, sewing, etc. should have been an essential part of school work (Kyöstiö 1955, 210-211). The proposal made by vicar A.G. Castegren in 1815 for the first School Commission concerned education for work suitable mostly for the countryside, according to that schools should teach handicrafts and gardening (Halila 1949, 190). These plans resembled the work education plans made in the beginning of the century for TarttoUniversity area – so also ‘the old Finland (Halila 1949, 104). In practice education for work was done in the beginning of the last century in some schools for girls, industrial schools and schools working in shifts, the program of which also had handicrafts (Aurola 1961, 49; Somerkivi 1952, 106-107; Viitanen 1947, 66-67).

Concerning vocational education development in Finland it also must be told, that with Mustiala agricultural college founded in 1840 also a little later were seven new agricultural schools founded in different sides of the country (Lehtonen 1936, 47-54). In 1847 there was an order to found three technical schools in the country, where industrially oriented children got basic training. The law in 1858 organised technical vocational training so that the former Sunday schools were changed to last two years and evening schools were founded to continue the studies. Added to that also the program of the technical schools was changed according to the demands of the time (Stenij 1935, 87-93).

We do not know the role of pedagogical aspects of education for work in the plans above. Education for work has quite strong traditions in the history of pedagogy (Anderson 1926; Bennet 1926; Burger 1923). However, we must remember the literary workhouses of William Petty, the proposals of Comenius for taking handicrafts in the school programs, the curricula made in the spirit of work education by Andreas Reyher for Gotha duke Ernst, and work schools planned by Locke. Also the work for economic purposes made in Francke institutions, Rousseau’s thoughts for the meaning of practical work for education, and the aspects brought by the philanthropists and industrial pedagogues to promote education for work (Bohemian industrial schools).

One might think that the work education thoughts of the philanthropists would have at least some impact on the Finnish work education plans above, because the philanthropist movement had just 1700 – 1800 become known in the country (Kyöstiö 1955, 210; Sainio1957, 28-34, 168). Concerning this piece of research most important, however, are the education for work ideas of Pestalozzi, Fröbel and Diesterweg, which Cygnaeus tells he had as his models. These will be scrutinized when handling the familiarising of Cygnaeus with the idea of education for work.

II. THE AIMS OF EDUCATION FOR WORK FROM THE REFORM PLAN OF ALEXANDER THE II TO THE ‘GRACIOUS DECLARATION’

In October 1856 the proposals for organising folk education by the Dioceses to the Church Council of the Senate basically repeated the thoughts of the Committee of the Folk Education – all bishops of the country had been members in the Committee (Memo of the Committee). According to the proposals of the Dioceses the aim of the schools was to prepare children to the confirmation school, just like the folk education Committee had planned. From the standpoint of research on education for work the differing opinions of the Turku Diocese members G.E. Eurén and T.T. Renvall are interesting.